Spring Anhua Hei Cha

This robust Hei Cha presents a deep orange liquor with a sweet, thick character. Notes of dried fruit mingle with earthy hay and savory mushrooms, creating a lubricating sensation that is exceptionall. It leans earthy, fruity and sweet.

Water around 95–100 °C (203–212 °F). In a mug, steep 3–5 min. For gongfu, use 5–7 g per 100 ml, 10–20 s steeps (10–20+ rounds). You'll get to see how the flavor changes across multiple rounds. Rinse the leaves once with boiling water before your first real steep. It cleans off storage dust and gets the flavor going.

Grown in Hunan, China. This batch is from the Spring 2012 harvest.

Starts at $8.00 from Yunnan Sourcing, or about $0.10/g. A 50g package gets you around 8 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $0.60 per session. Compare dark prices across vendors on Teadar.